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1971 Chevy Suburban- Project Rebirth‘71 Suburban, Part 5: Heard but Not Seen

Hedman Performance Group, Lowboy Motorsports and Michael’s Truck Works Take Our Exhaust to New Heights

Our project 1971 Chevy Suburban is well on its way to becoming a reliable and well performing driver. It now has a much smoother ride with its QA1 Suspension. It is capable of stopping on a dime with the new Baer Brakes installed. Some safety and inconvenience issues were taken care of with a Flaming River steering column from United Pacific Industries as well as Dakota Digital gauges from Summit Racing Equipment. On top of those additions, the upgrade from 15-inch rollers to 22-inch Intro Wheels with Nexen Tires has really changed the overall look of the cool cruiser.

There was just one more project to undertake before packing up to head home after our busy week in Arizona. With the '71 sitting low to the ground and the ability to adjust the coilovers even lower in the future, our Suburban exhaust was hanging too low, which looks awful while also dragging when entering or exiting steep driveways.

We turned to the pros at Hedman Performance Group to get a set of their Hedders in a mid-length configuration. Our exhaust problem wasn't just where the pipes were routed but rather an issue that began with the long-tube headers attached to the engine block. They previously served their purpose but were just too long on the bottom end to tuck the exhaust up and out of sight. Lowboy Motorsports teamed up with Michael's Truck Works for a one-two punch in getting the exhaust system tucked up from the engine all the way back to the new exit points we chose. Follow along while we show you how they tucked, cleaned up, and ultimately made our '71 'Burban look and sound much better than ever before.

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| Before we started this project, our rendering by KP Concepts showed the end goal. With many of the initial plans already completed, it was time to wrap up this first round of major changes.

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| The new Hedman Hedders are pictured here with their Black Maxx Ceramic Coating. The pro-touring-style product will give our project a much higher starting point for the exhaust pipes and mufflers to run towards the rear of the SUV.

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| With the old and new headers side by side, the difference in length is easily noticeable. This stark change in height will allow the piping to run through a path that GM never provided, but Lowboy Motorsports is about to create it.

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| When it is centered in the crossmember, the tubing is welded in. This piece will protect the exhaust pipes from rubbing the newly cut opening while allowing some minor movement that will naturally occur.

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| The bare metal was covered in paint to protect from rust and as you can see here, there's another issue to handle before the pipes can be routed. The fuel line loops are unnecessary and in the way, so they will be cleaned up.

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| Here you can see the change from the factory bends sticking out on the right to the newly cut lines on the left. When the bends are all cut out, the connecting hoses are shortened and reattached.

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| Then, the pipe on the driver side can be loosely attached to the adapter. You can see the pipe needed extra bends to come away from the oil filter then back upwards towards the crossmember.

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| To get around the trailing arms and run the pipe to our desired exit point before the rear wheel opening, Michael goes back and forth to the pipe bender, then to the chop saw when the length is correct.

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| After a solid week of work, our Suburban was much safer and reliable, could turn and stop on a dime, looked and sounded exponentially better, and now had the clearance necessary for a lowered daily driver. Check out the whole build at truckin.com.